The fact is, the Egyptians were very good sculptors; we’re mostly more familiar with their kinda odd use of proportion and perspectives in their paintings and reliefs. But here’s an excellent example (well, a bunch) of much older (4th Dynasty, no question about provenance, some were photographed in situ at discovery) “reserve heads”, which were found interred near (for example) the Great Pyramid — and remain mysterious and unexplained.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Reserve_head
Thank you. I’ve seen those and these seem so different than the bust in question (and I’m not referring to paint). Sorry for late reply.